viven44 Posted September 5 Author Share Posted September 5 I hear you I avoid renting or borrowing whenever possible too. Well this is probably the most nagging issue I have just not got a handle on yet on the 78 Bronco.... This started when my original cable was burnt to a crisp because the previous owner had no clue the exhaust pipe was too close. It still worked well actually. Some bouncing, but nothing too terrible but I had just woken up that Bronco so not too many miles of data. I have tried 3 different aftermarket replacements all having 1 thing in common - All 3 are about 13" longer than they need to be. They are some generic replacement. I have tried cruise control versions... and then I wanted to cut all the middle men so I went to a non-cruise version. - The inner core was always 1" longer, so I had to trim it so the speedo gear would fit. I have tried greasing the inner cables, and for a while things got better. With me now using all 4 BBLs of my carb now, I have now exceeded the capabilities of the speedo again. The needle goes to town when I launch the Bronco!!! The only thing left to do is to replace the head itself.... but luckily I came across this old speedo cable supposedly from the 78 Bronco that is the correct length.. Before I try replacing the speedo head this is a hail mary. https://www.ebay.com/itm/305605214751?mkevt=1&mkpid=0&emsid=e11060.m43.l3160&mkcid=7&ch=osgood&euid=ab3fe0243e8444ee8e6f03256c5f740b&bu=43990924704&exe=0&ext=0&osub=-1%7E1&crd=20240903195519&segname=11060 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viven44 Posted Monday at 08:18 PM Author Share Posted Monday at 08:18 PM Well this is probably the most nagging issue I have just not got a handle on yet on the 78 Bronco.... This started when my original cable was burnt to a crisp because the previous owner had no clue the exhaust pipe was too close. It still worked well actually. Some bouncing, but nothing too terrible but I had just woken up that Bronco so not too many miles of data. I have tried 3 different aftermarket replacements all having 1 thing in common - All 3 are about 13" longer than they need to be. They are some generic replacement. I have tried cruise control versions... and then I wanted to cut all the middle men so I went to a non-cruise version. - The inner core was always 1" longer, so I had to trim it so the speedo gear would fit. I have tried greasing the inner cables, and for a while things got better. With me now using all 4 BBLs of my carb now, I have now exceeded the capabilities of the speedo again. The needle goes to town when I launch the Bronco!!! The only thing left to do is to replace the head itself.... but luckily I came across this old speedo cable supposedly from the 78 Bronco that is the correct length.. Before I try replacing the speedo head this is a hail mary. https://www.ebay.com/itm/305605214751?mkevt=1&mkpid=0&emsid=e11060.m43.l3160&mkcid=7&ch=osgood&euid=ab3fe0243e8444ee8e6f03256c5f740b&bu=43990924704&exe=0&ext=0&osub=-1%7E1&crd=20240903195519&segname=11060 Well I am happy (and embarrassed) to report that this rather simple matter has been resolved and it took about 4 tries... on my 78 Bronco, the original cable rotted away so I tried 3 different aftermarket cables... of all, honestly after I cut the cable to the correct length the LMC one was built the sturdiest (made in Taiwan) and worked the best but I cut it incorrectly and ruined it as it stranded where it was cut. The other 2 chinese made ones worked at the beginning after cutting to length, but I would always hear the speedometer whirring and jumping would ensue from time to time. I greased them very generously with white lithium grease..... and that helped but the other day on my 200 mile I definitely noticed it not happy >60mph. Well today I installed the old one off eBay that came off a 78 Bronco. The quality of build is superior and it has the sharp tipped end that goes into the speedo head. It is exactly the correct length, came with all the factory clips and "bumpers". It worked like a charm. In fact when I had the cable installed at the cluster and I hand spun the driven gear, I could tell how little-to-no resistance it had. While driving I DO NOT hear anything on the speedometer and I drove up to 80mph today with little to no movement just like BB 2WD, and no fussing while slowing down either. I paid $35 for this old cable... but I could have saved so much time and hassle had I gone with this to begin with. I hope the situation on the bullnoses is better on aftermarket.. I will safeguard the one off my low-miles parts truck!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted Monday at 08:32 PM Share Posted Monday at 08:32 PM Well I am happy (and embarrassed) to report that this rather simple matter has been resolved and it took about 4 tries... on my 78 Bronco, the original cable rotted away so I tried 3 different aftermarket cables... of all, honestly after I cut the cable to the correct length the LMC one was built the sturdiest (made in Taiwan) and worked the best but I cut it incorrectly and ruined it as it stranded where it was cut. The other 2 chinese made ones worked at the beginning after cutting to length, but I would always hear the speedometer whirring and jumping would ensue from time to time. I greased them very generously with white lithium grease..... and that helped but the other day on my 200 mile I definitely noticed it not happy >60mph. Well today I installed the old one off eBay that came off a 78 Bronco. The quality of build is superior and it has the sharp tipped end that goes into the speedo head. It is exactly the correct length, came with all the factory clips and "bumpers". It worked like a charm. In fact when I had the cable installed at the cluster and I hand spun the driven gear, I could tell how little-to-no resistance it had. While driving I DO NOT hear anything on the speedometer and I drove up to 80mph today with little to no movement just like BB 2WD, and no fussing while slowing down either. I paid $35 for this old cable... but I could have saved so much time and hassle had I gone with this to begin with. I hope the situation on the bullnoses is better on aftermarket.. I will safeguard the one off my low-miles parts truck!!! Glad you got it sorted, but sorry it took so many tries. Still, forget about the previous attempts and enjoy the smooth and quiet speedo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viven44 Posted Monday at 09:27 PM Author Share Posted Monday at 09:27 PM Glad you got it sorted, but sorry it took so many tries. Still, forget about the previous attempts and enjoy the smooth and quiet speedo. Thanks Gary. I think I've learned from all the discussion on the forum here and my experience that the original parts still work the best. When I started this, I was definitely into parts swapping and replacing anything that looked old and suspect... but I have (I THINK) learned on what to look for when seeking replacement parts. At the truck show, I did feel bad for that young man with the "super charger whine" belt on his flatbed truck. His odometer was broken and hasn't tracked any miles in the 6 years he's owned it. I told him I'd ship him a speedometer/odometer free of cost as I have about 3-4 old non-tach clusters that I took out when I swapped them for a tach cluster.. he declined as he said he was done with the original cluster and was going "Dakota digital" soon. I hope his money is well spent !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted Monday at 09:42 PM Share Posted Monday at 09:42 PM Thanks Gary. I think I've learned from all the discussion on the forum here and my experience that the original parts still work the best. When I started this, I was definitely into parts swapping and replacing anything that looked old and suspect... but I have (I THINK) learned on what to look for when seeking replacement parts. At the truck show, I did feel bad for that young man with the "super charger whine" belt on his flatbed truck. His odometer was broken and hasn't tracked any miles in the 6 years he's owned it. I told him I'd ship him a speedometer/odometer free of cost as I have about 3-4 old non-tach clusters that I took out when I swapped them for a tach cluster.. he declined as he said he was done with the original cluster and was going "Dakota digital" soon. I hope his money is well spent !! I think a lot of "The Next Generation" choose to go digital because they can't grasp that analoge either works or it doesn't (but there's always evidence) Where as binary can be corrupted and not have any outward symptoms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBrother-84 Posted yesterday at 06:10 AM Share Posted yesterday at 06:10 AM I changed all my gears more than once, never satisfied. But I recently understood that we should be a bit patient after renewing the gears (drive and driven). NOS speedo/odo, new cable, new gears (again), and the needle still jumping a bit at low speed. A bit disappointed (a lot should I admit). But after couple of miles, my speedo is now really smooth, at any speed. As new. I suspect that the gears have to adjust themselves, one with the other, kind of "plastic moulding". When new they are probably "too sharp", and a little worn seems good, they now roll smoothly enough that the needle doesn't jump anymore. Well, that's my humble theory... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted yesterday at 10:32 AM Share Posted yesterday at 10:32 AM I can see how the plastic moulded gears might lap themselves in or the cable itself may begin to lose the set it took while all coiled up. (I certainly know that feeling when I stand and begin to walk around after sitting too long! 👴 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viven44 Posted yesterday at 12:58 PM Author Share Posted yesterday at 12:58 PM (edited) Jeff, I had considered that.. that makes a lot of sense and its really the "hunting gear" principle that Bill had mentioned about on rear-ends where over time the teeth patterns mesh together. That is why Ford factory manual requires you to replace driven gear everytime a drive gear is replaced. In my case unfortunately, the issue was at high speed and the amount of jumping was to the point where I did not know how fast I was going past 60 or 70mph... low speed was fine... things started out good and that is why I would report something here as good and then a week later I would come back and blame the speedo cable I just installed or driven gear... 🫣 One thing I did observed is with the speedo cable installed on the cluster, and when I tried to spin the driven gear on the transfer case end, I would feel some level of resistance. With the factory speedo cable I just installed it was free as can be unlike any of the aftermarket. The cable itself was larger diameter so the inner cable probably had more room to move around.... The only one that came close to that in hindsight was the LMC cable. If I had only done the LMC install correctly it probably would have worked. The Pioneer and ATP options were horrible. Edited yesterday at 01:00 PM by viven44 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBrother-84 Posted yesterday at 02:51 PM Share Posted yesterday at 02:51 PM I forgot to mention that, during all these trials and multiple replacements, I decided to modify the firewall opening. Let me explain: When I installed a NOS "Dealer Installed Speed Control" I noticed that the cable was bent behind the speedo (due to the speed sensor length). I suspected that the cable course could participate to my jumping needle issue, so I created an opening for the cable, the higher I could in the firewall. Maybe this helped (with the new cable and gears). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viven44 Posted yesterday at 05:42 PM Author Share Posted yesterday at 05:42 PM Jeff, that is a very interesting setup for cruise control. Regarding firewall hole, the factory manual does require about 10-15 inches of straight path for the cable coming out of the speedometer gauge… so that’s a good point to ensure all unnecessary bends are removed. The F150 that won best in class this year, you should have seen the speedometer cable !!! I have no idea how it was even working. It was literally tied up in a knot and zip tied near the ignition module.😳 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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